Frankly Speaking with George Bamugemereire

By Joan Akello

Deputy Inspector General of Government

Who are you in two sentences?

A lawyer, father of two and husband of one wife, Catherine. My passion is human development.

Why are your interests about people?

People have skills, talents but operate without reaching their full potential. The motivational talks I hold are to rekindle and discover what they have within them.

What do people do that hurts you?

Misappropriating funds.  I think we owe it to the people, to protect and work in their best interest when we hold public office.  What really hurts me is when  I see the  people who  should be  the stewards, working  in the interest of the people violating and betraying  the people they should protect especially the vulnerable, the weak.

What makes you happy?

Doing the right things, I can’t put up with contradictions. When my actions, words and whole life is reconciled, that’s my best state of being.

What’s your best book?

16 books series entitled Left Behind series. People who have tried to project how will the world end and what will happen far after we have left. I have read it thrice.

What movie has affected you?

I get involved in movies especially the action movies, I love supermen doing magnificent things but certainly Titanic reflected a real life situation.

Hardest decision you have had to make

As a family, it was sending our thirteen- year- old daughter to study in England for three months.  It was a very painful experience but we felt we did not want to break her education when we returned to Uganda.

If you were 25, what would you change?

I would have invested in finding my real passion. I would have done more to develop my passion in human resource and human development. I would also help train people and engage in mentorship to help people discover themselves.

Which woman do you admire?

I don’t want to say because I’ll be divorced.

If you were a woman, who would you be?

A leader and mother. I would be the one to lead and inspire others and model a full life to my children.

When was the first time you earned a salary?

In 1990 when I was a legal assistant at a law firm.

How did you spend it?

I moved and I paid rent in a small house.

What can’t you live without?

Private prayer

When was the last time you cried?

Surprisingly, I do not remember

What’s your greatest fear?

Heights, I fear to fly and limited spaces.

When did this phobia manifest the first time?

This problem started as an adult when I visited America in 1994 and an old American friend took me to the Texas Flats and put me on one of those big roller coasters. I had never seen one. By next day I could hardly travel back to Uganda. That triggered a problem for life.

What is your philosophy about life?

Human beings must live in light of eternity; we must know that our life is finite and that it starts and comes to an end.

What do you want to achieve before you die?

I want by the time life comes to an end to be in a state where I can give account and feel that I have achieved the purposes for Which God created me.

As a child what earned you a beating for being mischievous?

I went to a boarding school, Mwiri Primary School where beating was the routine. So as a top performer and one who had established myself as a top student in the class and every time I dropped  in  my place they used to  cane people in a factor of six , so the minimum number of canes was six  for a small offence  and maximum I saw was 36 but not for me.